Three Metro Vancouver employees fired over human error in Cleveland Dam incident

Metro Vancouver has fired three workers following the fatal Cleveland Dam incident that occurred in October.

In a statement, Metro Vancouver said the individuals have been “dismissed from employment with Metro Vancouver.”

“Metro Vancouver continues to cooperate fully with external agencies in their investigations, and will not be providing further comment at this time,” notes a release from the federation of municipalities that oversees the dam.

• See also:
  • Human error likely caused Cleveland Dam’s deadly accidental opening
  • Cleveland Dam failure likely had both human and mechanical aspects
  • Crews still searching for victims after Cleveland Dam malfunction
  • One person dead after Cleveland Dam opens on Capilano River

Cleveland Dam opened unexpectedly on October 1, releasing a torrent of water that left one person dead and another still missing.

On October 8, Metro Vancouver announced that human error was involved in the dam’s opening.

Commissioner Jerry Dobrovolny wrote that human error was the “clearest contributing factor” to the deadly incident.

“Metro Vancouver takes responsibility for this mistake and our deepest sympathies go out to those affected by the tragic loss of life,” he said.

The rush of water swept away several anglers fishing below, and one of them was pulled from the river unresponsive. That man’s son was also swept away. He has not been found.

The dam’s gate opened erroneously while Metro Vancouver workers were doing regular maintenance that afternoon. The mistake likely occurred when someone was programming the control system for the dam’s spillway gate, Dobrovolny added.

With files from Megan Devlin.